Asembia’s 2022 Specialty Pharmacy Summit

Politics and policies were among the main topics at the meeting in Las Vegas. But the 6,000 attendees also heard about biosimilars, the gross-to-net price gap and the ripple effects of the CMS’ Aduhelm coverage decision.

At the 2022 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit, healthcare policy experts at Avalere shared insights into the politics of a less ambitious Build Back Better bill and the healthcare provisions it might include. If a "skinny bill" doesn't get passed, the healthcare action of the Biden administration might shift to CMS Innovation Center and payment models, including a successor to the Oncology Care Model, they said.

Ryan Urgo, Managing Director, Health Policy at Avalere addressed the Biden administration’s healthcare priorities and if the Build Back Better legislation will include provisions that deal with drug prices? Urgo spoke at this year's annual Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas on the subject, as well.

Many patients don’t fill their prescriptions because of the cost. TailorMed is a software platform that connects patients to possible sources of financial assistance.

Drug manufacturers are challenging the discounted drug program, but if they are blamed for the closing of rural hospitals that depend on 340B funds, the challenge may have a serious downside, warned an expert on the program.

Jayne Hornung, Chief Clinical Officer, Pharmacy, MMIT addresses the difference between digital therapeutics in the pharmacy and medical benefit space, and digs into the potential causes of the slow uptake in digital therapeutics among payers during this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.

Doug Long, vice president of Industry Relations at IQVIA spoke on how the current inflationary trend in the economy affects healthcare spending and prices, as well as the trend of specialty drugs accounting for half of the drug spend in healthcare. Hear more of what he shared with our team at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.

In a session on ecommerce and pharmacy, Amazon Pharmacy executives said they want to make the online pharmacy experience easy to navigate and pricing transparent.

In their general session, Adam J. Fein, PhD of Drug Channels Institute, and Doug Long of IQVIA reviewed the current specialty pharmacy space, ongoing trends and future expectations.

The former FDA commissioner and Asembia keynote speaker was sanguine about the future course of the COVID-19 pandemic and biosimilars. He is concerned, though, that the CMS Aduhelm coverage decision set a bad precedent.

Jayson Slotnik, partner at Health Policy Strategies, Inc, addresses the most recent developments in value-based contracting and how it affects specialty pharmacy at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.

Sonia Oskouei, PharmD, vice president of Biosimilars at Cardinal Health, spoke on pharmacists playing a bigger role in driving biosimilar adoption in 2023 and beyond during Asembia's 2022 Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.

IQVIA’s Lucas Greenwalt says manufacturers need to provide patient assistance if they want their new brands to meet sales goals as payers devise strategies to cope with cost and the increasing number of ultra-expensive medications skyrockets.

The Build Back Better legislation would have had far-reaching effects on Medicare Parts B and D but the legislation has stalled, and it is unclear if any significant federal legislation affecting specialty pharamcy will pass this year. Meanwhile, several states are addressing white bagging, according to Tracy Russell of CoverMyMeds.

MMIT’s Jayne Hornung says that coverage of prescription digital therapeutics is “very slim” right now but that would likely change with Medicare coverage. And legislation to do just that has been introduced in the House and Senate.

Tracy Russell, senior director of state government affairs at CoverMyMeds addressed what piece of new federal legislation will have the biggest effect on specialty pharmacy and what the Biden administration's emphasis on healthcare equity will do for specialty pharmacy. Russell spoke more on this topic at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.

About 6,000 attendees are expected for the meeting next week that will also have Adam Fein and Doug Long as featured speakers.

Growth, competition and equity were among the topics discussed at the Asembia’s 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas this week

3D printing of drugs at home. Simulated drug combinations. Treatments tailored to microbiomes. Deloitte’s George Van Antwerp spun some futuristic scenarios for pharmacy and healthcare at the Asembia specialty pharmacy meeting in Las Vegas.

Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) programs are designed to protect patients, but they can also make providers more confident about prescribing a drug, explained panelists at the Asembia specialty pharmacy meeting. And the FDA collaborates with drugmakers on the planning the particulars of the programs, said Steve Granzyk and Tiffany Abraham.

Ray Tancredi, divisional vice president of specialty pharmacy development and brand rx/vaccine purchasing at Walgreens, will be speaking at Asembia's 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit. In this video Tancredi talks about the drugs that are most significant in the pipeline and what to look for in approvals in the future.

Because families and patients may experience many difficult — and confusing — years prior to a definitive diagnosis of a rare disease, specialty pharmacies need to do everything in their power to make the treatment as navigable as possible, advised Nick Calla, J.D., and Dave Frobel of Orsini Specialty Pharmacy.

Michelle Booth, Pharm.D., of Magellan Rx Management, is speaking at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. In this clip Booth speaks about trends in drug spend and the differences among the commercial, Medicare and Medicaid lines of business.

Jim Adams, chief information officer of AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, is a speaker at the 2021 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. In this clip Adams talks about the relationship between his organization and Walgreens, how telehealth can improve the health of specialty pharmacy patients and more.

Heather Bonome, Pharm.D., pharmacy director at URAC, a healthcare accreditation organization, is a speaker at the 2021 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. Bonome talks about a defining telehealth, the pandemic's effect on the use of telehealth in specialty pharmacy and whether URAC might add telehealth requirements to its accrediting standards for specialty pharmacies.

Panelist says insights into the needs of particular populations of patients can help.

Members of a panel discussion on market access at Asembia’s specialty pharmacy meeting shared advise and insights into how best win acceptance and improve uptake of new products.

George Van Antwerp, pharmacy and PBM leader of Deloitte, presents at the Asembia 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit and shares framework of specialty pharmacy.

Steve Peskin of Horizon BCBS of NJ, executive medical director of Population Health at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, shares forms of value-based contracting between payers and pharmaceutical companies.

Lance Grady, head of Market Access at Avalere Health, gives a preview of his presentation he gives at Asembia and discusses the significant changes made to specialty pharmacy because of the COVID-19 public health emergency.